A Game You Want to Win
As part of my mission to help you build a better mindset for money, I must make sure you know the value of good health. I almost ignored this point early in my life and I know too many that did ignore the need to maintain good health.
Perhaps you can make good health a game to help you give it more attention. After all, this will be a game you want to win!
Aside from the costs of poor health and poor health habits, good health can add more to your life than money.
Get a Healthy Outlook
Using my own experience as an example, when I have let spending get out of control, I built up financial trauma. At that point, I developed an upset tummy and had difficulty sleeping. I created an unhealthy outlook on life.
Was money my problem? No. The problem was in my behavior.
A healthy mind is the start of a healthy body. Our outlook on life depends on the health of our mind. That must be your first step toward developing a healthy outlook on life.
When you let the need for money excuse your poor behavior, then, your health has lost value to you. If you let that continue, you will have built a regret into your future.
Stop! You must look beyond today!
You must take steps to set up a guard for your mind. Your guard needs to qualify what thoughts are allowed to take up residence in your mind. Your guard must only allow thoughts that strengthen, not weaken. Don’t let your guard down.
Work on Your Mind Game
The guard for your mind is the filter to keep unhealthy thoughts from taking over your mind. Instruct them to lead those thoughts out the door of your mind.
There are too many people who finish their formal education and declare they are done with study. That is when you need to start the process of guarding your mind.
As you get into the workforce, you will mix with other, more experienced people. Some have let their guard down and will tempt you to do the same. They let short-term fun disrupt their future security and health. Guard your mind to protect yourself!
This game is serious! As part of your strategy to win, you must develop a willingness to read to purposely build information into your mind to fortify your defenses.
A strong mind will help to build a strong body.
A strong mind can help your body take steps to build strength and endurance through exercise and healthy eating habits.
A goal is valuable if it has a means to measure your progress to achieve it. Good health is like that. Some consider weight a good measure. Some consider your daily steps a good measure.
A measure that has endured the test of time was noted in the book Aerobics, by Dr. Kenneth Cooper. As a test for measuring progress in strength and endurance. He called it the “12 Minute Run Test”. It is simply going to a track (although we have apps now—this was in 1968) and seeing how far you can run or walk in 12 minutes. It sounds easy until you try it. However, some training with intent will help you improve the distance you can go over those 12 minutes!
Look for Evidence
Your view of health may have been affected by your friends and family. How healthy are your parents and siblings? Do any of them have unhealthy habits like smoking or drinking alcohol? Do they justify their actions like smoking e-cigarettes?
What about your friends? Are they happy to just sit and play computer games with you? What about outdoor activities?
I bring this up to help you recognize there is evidence of self-destruction that is not so obvious when they have always been a part of your life. So, set your guard in place!
Do some filtering of all the talk, the excuses, the actions of those around you. Be careful not to condemn. Your actions that bring you beneficial results will get their attention. We cannot control others, but we can control ourselves and how we react to our circumstances.
Make yours a healthy response!
Instant is not a factor in good health. Your body and mind need time to process and respond to health changes. Give your mind and body time to adjust.
You may have heard of the “training effect”. Essentially, that is feeling tired and sore after a training effort, like running or lifting weights or doing push-ups. Rest and a hot shower will resolve most of that condition. And, once rested, you will feel stronger and able to do more.
However, your mind needs convincing that it will be worth the effort to do this consistently.
Fast and Strong for You
You can strengthen your mind to strengthen your body. How is that? Make your conviction to your health not to compete with others. A goal will help. Make it measurable and give yourself plenty of time to progress toward that goal.
For example, say you took the “12 Minute Test” and could only walk six tenths of a mile, which is an average of three miles per hour. That is a slow pace but that does not mean that you cannot improve. At that point, you could make your goal to do a mile in 12 minutes. To do that, you would have to jog part of the way to be able to average five miles an hour. Over time that is a reasonable goal to work towards.
Notice that I did not suggest an average that would demand a pace for running all the time. That would be unreasonable and potentially dangerous for a body not conditioned to do so.
Don’t try to set records, just set the record straight for good health!
The Long Run for Fun
Most of us do not have time to train like an Olympic athlete. However, if we make exercise a habit to keep us healthy and measurable to assure ourselves that we are healthy, we can be in this game of life a long time.
Walk if you must or run when you can. But try to be in this for the long run. You will have more fun!
Enjoy What Is Possible
Most of us do not try our limits, let alone try to exercise. Consider the old saying, “What your mind can conceive and believe it can achieve!”, a quote by Napoleon Hill in his book, Think and Grow Rich.
Start with your mind. Filter out the unachievable and let in the achievable. Believe you can. Give yourself goals to prove you can.
Make conditioning your mind and body a condition for your good health. To get results you must make the effort.
I know you can do more than you think possible. I know you can learn more than you thought possible. Start today to push back your limits. Enjoy what is possible!
Health is more than just a game. So, make every effort to do your best to stay in it
for the long run!